Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: a&e, escape from the kkk, generation kkk, kkk

War On Trumpmas: A&E Cancels KKK Reality Show After Learning They Gave Money To Hate Group Members

Bleeding Cool has been keeping you up to date on A&E's reality show documentary about the KKK, originally called Generation KKK but changed just earlier today to Escape From The KKK: A Documentary Series Exposing Hate In America #ExposeHate in an attempt to reverse the negative PR that the network shockingly received for making a reality show documentary about the Ku Klux Klan. Criticism of the show questioned the ethics of making a show about the KKK, saying, amongst other things, that it could give the Klan a platform for their racist views, or that it could present them as sympathetic characters. Turns out it was nothing so subtle as that. The show was apparently outright giving hate group members money, in exchange for access to film, according to a statement A&E just released.

If nothing else, the revelation gives A&E a good excuse to bail out and cancel the show, which they've done, even if paying documentary participants for access wouldn't be nearly as controversial as the statement implies if the participants in question weren't members of the nation's oldest and most prominent white supremacist group. Well, whatever gets them there.

So all's well that ends well, we suppose.

The full statement, which ran originally on Deadline, follows:

The documentary 'Escaping the KKK' was intended to serve as a close look at anti-hate extractors focused on helping people leave the Ku Klux Klan—the racist hate group with a long history of violence against African Americans and others. Our goal with this series has always been to expose and combat racism and hatred in all its forms.

However, A&E learned last night from the third-party producers who made the documentary that cash payments — which we currently understand to be nominal — were made in the field to some participants in order to facilitate access. While we stand behind the intent of the series and the seriousness of the content, these payments are a direct violation of A&E's policies and practices for a documentary. We had previously provided assurances to the public and to our core partners – including the Anti-Defamation League and Color of Change – that no payment was made to hate group members, and we believed that to be the case at the time. We have now decided not to move forward with airing this project.

A&E takes the authenticity of its documentary programming and the subject of racism, hatred and violence very seriously. Just because this particular show goes away, the issues of hate in America do not. We will still seek to fight hate in America through on-air programming including town halls and documentary programs produced in partnership with civil rights organizations, as well as continue to work with the civil rights community to facilitate a deeper dialogue on ending hate through comprehensive educational and outreach campaigns.

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